The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to electrical connectors having electrical ground paths.
Two or more electrical components are often electrically connected together to operatively connect the electrical components. Specifically, corresponding signal paths within the electrical components are electrically connected together, for example using intervening contacts and/or conductors of an intervening electrical connector, to establish signal paths between the electrical components. Similarly, corresponding electrical ground paths and/or planes within the electrical components are electrically connected together to provide one or more electrical ground paths between the electrical components. One specific example of interconnecting electrical components includes interconnecting two printed circuits (sometimes referred to as “circuit boards” or “printed circuit boards”). One of the printed circuits sometimes includes a driver circuit having an output that drives the input of a receiver circuit of the other printed circuit.
Electrical components that are electrically connected together may suffer from unintended direct current (DC) coupling therebetween. Specifically, DC may be unintentially transferred between the electrical components. For example, driver and receiver circuits on printed circuits that are interconnected may be unintentially DC coupled. Unintentional DC coupling between interconnected electrical components may be particularly troublesome for electrical components that transmit high speed (e.g., above approximately 1 gigabits per second (Gbps)) differential signals therebetween.
To block DC coupling between the electrical components, discrete capacitors are typically provided along the signal paths of one or both of the electrical components. However, only a limited amount of space is available on or near the electrical components. For example, due to the increased demand for smaller electronic packages and higher signal transmission speeds, printed circuits and other electrical components may not have room for conventional discrete DC blocking capacitors. Adding discrete capacitors to the electrical components to block unintended DC coupling may therefore increase a size of the electrical components. In addition or alternatively to the increased size, the addition of discrete capacitors to the electrical components may reduce a density of contacts, conductors, circuits, and/or the like of the electrical components, which may negatively impact signal transmission rates between the electrical components. Moreover, parasitic inductance, capacitance, resistance, and/or the like of the discrete capacitors within the electrical components may also reduce signal transmission speeds between electrical components that transmit high speed differential signals therebetween.